Long-term swaddled, fiddly fiddly baby! Help!

This is probably going to be long - thank you if you manage to read it all!
DD is 11 months old, and is still swaddled to sleep at night in a 'Swaddle Me'. I've also had to put her in a sleepsuit with the arms sewn down (underneath) :redface:
to keep her settled.

She is one of those *very* fiddly babies - the kind that need a necklace to grab when they're BFing, only she is worse because they don't work with her!
So I also have to put her in the Swaddle Me while BFing so that she will actually feed - otherwise she violently swats and grabs and basically just fiddles and distracts herself so much, that she gets annoyed, cries, and comes off the boob!
(I remember when she was 2 or 3 days old, still in hospital, and a midwife was helping me with BFing. DD had grabbed my top and was rubbing the fabric between her fingers, and looking around with a very intense, thoughtful expression on her face. The midwife said "Look, it's like she's already her own little person!")

Every now and then we try feeding unswaddled, but it never works. This morning I thought I'd try again, and it was worse than ever. I tried for 30 minutes, but it was a disaster.

Does *anyone* have a fiddly baby like this? No one else believes that my baby can be this fiddly, but she really is!

I know she'll have to stop being swaddled to sleep one day, but you know when you're so caught up in the hopelessness of a situation that you can't see a light at the end of the tunnel? That's me now!

I just don't know where to begin. I thought I'd see how she went with unswaddled BFing during the day, but that's been a disaster. I guess I just have to keep trying.

Any suggestions much appreciated!

YES!!!!!!! I have one!!!!! *puts up hand*

We are in the transition phase of swaddling at the moment and we can't seem to get past one arm out - and the arm that is out is the arm that is under her when she is feeding if that makes sense, so she may as well be fully swaddled.

The way we are going, she'll still be swaddled when she's 5 :ROFL:
So yeah, I totally feel your pain!! :)

Subscribing to this thread as I have no advice but would love to hear what others think!
Sue xxx

DS probably wasn't as bad as your DD, but he's definitely a fidgitter. If you unswaddle her you'll probably find she'll soon progress to mid-feed gymnastics. Quite entertaining!
We just stopped swaddling - it took a while but he got used to it and slept anyway (after a fashion). He still squirms and fidgets a lot. His father is the same - reckons it's his 'process'.
Anyway, if this is what works for now, then just keep doing it. She'll probably figure out some houdini trick to get out of it eventually....

*puts hand up*

I've got a fidgeter - he's not as bad as your daughter but he's still pretty bad.

He's fine to sleep at night and will settle himself to sleep as long as DH is in with him... But when it comes to me settling him at night, and for anyone but the girls at daycare, he still has to be wrapped. At 21 months old... It's not easy wrapping a 14kg, 90cm tall toddler, but we do what we have to do! If he's not wrapped, he keeps moving to keep himself awake, I have to wrap him and cuddle him to keep him still long enough so he can fall asleep.

The only advice I've got is do what you need to do. She will eventually learn to put herself to sleep. Sam can do it at night and is starting to show signs of being ready to try during the day. He does it at day care when there are other kids also going down for a sleep and he just lies down on his little bed and drifts off with them... but not a chance of it happening at home just yet.

BW

Thanks all.... I'm glad I'm not alone!

Yeah, just gotta wait I guess. I will try and count my blessings - at least DD is small (25th percentile) so if it continues for a long time, it will make it somewhat easier.
Although she is still a little Houdini even now!

Hi girls,
I had a similar issue with swaddling for sleeps until DS was 12mths - the worst part was stressing about what he 'should' be doing. I think some babies just need extra security or support to relax them and if thats what it takes then go with it. Try every now and then if you feel the need to wean them off the habit - but don't stress about it.
For our sleeping conversion i went for one arm out first, and literally sat and held his arm down the first night until he slept (lying next to cot so he couldnt look at me). next night held gently and just above his hand, and only held it down when he wriggled, and so on... after 2 weeks he could sleep unwrapped. I suggest taking it really slow and not changing too much in each step towards freedom :)
Goodluck